Shorts handling means for cigarette tobacco feeds



April 12, 1949. ARELT 2,467,248

C. SHORTS HANDLING MEANS FOR CIGARETTE TOBACCO FEEDS Filed April 3, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR CHARLES ARELT F I G. l-

ATTORNEY April 12, 1949. c. ARELT SHORTS HANDLING MEANS FOR CIGARETTE TOBACCO FEEDS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 3, 1942 INVENTOR CHARLES ARELT 3 ATTORNEY April 12, 1949. c. ARELT SHORTS HANDLING MEANS FOR CIGARETTE TOBACCO FEEDS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 5, 1942 FIG-3 INVENTOR CHARLES ARELT 5 ATTORNEY April 12, 1949. c. ARELT 2,467,248

SHORTS HANDLING MEANS FOR CIGARETTE TOBACCO FEEDS 5 SheetsSheet 4 Filed April 3, 1942 INVENTOR CHARLES ARELT ATTORNEY April 12, 1949. c. ARELT 2,467,248

SHORTS HANDLING MEANS FOR CIGARETTE TOBACCO FEEDS Filed April 3, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 lNVENTOR CHARLES ARELT BY MNEY Patented Apr. 12, 1949 SHORTS HANDLING MEANS FOR CIGARETTE TOBACCO FEEDS Charles Arelt, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignor to American Machine & Foundry Company, a corporation of New Jersey Application April 3, 1942, Serial No. 437,513

18 Claims. 1

This invention relates to an improved tobacco feeding apparatus and method for cigarette making machines.

Tobacco used in the manufacture of cigarettes is made up of shreds of varying lengths. Some might be as long as the entire length of a tobacco leaf, others much shorter. Intermingled with these long and medium size shreds are short particles of tobacco which are frequently referred to by tobacco men as shorts. In a cigarette it is considered desirable to have all sizes, the larger shreds acting to hold the smaller particles in place. The smaller particles serve to fill up the hollow spots which would otherwise be prevalent if only long shreds were used. From the point of View of economy, it is necessary also to use the shorts because they constitute an appreciable portion of the shredded tobacco which otherwise might be wasted.

In conventional cigarette feeds, the shorts are unevenly proportioned among all the cigarettes produced. One group of cigarettes may contain an undue proportion of shorts and another group an undue proportion of long shreds. The cigarettes produced by the same machine from one supply will also differ in weight in that those with the short shreds will weigh more than the cigarettes having the long shreds.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved machine for separating shorts from a main tobacco supply and redistributing them uniformly in the ultimate cigarette filler while proportioning all of the shorts fed evenly over all the tobacco fed from the main hopper.

Another object is to provide a feed for a cigarette machine wherein all the cigarettes produced by the machine will be of more nearly equal weight and uniform compaction than has heretofore been though possible.

Another object is to provide an improved and simplified means for loosening the shreds of tobacco to prevent the tobacco from becoming compacted and also to release the shorter shreds from the longer shreds.

A further object is to provide an improved and simplified machine for separating the shorts from a supply of shredded tobacco.

Another object is to provide an improved machine for combining long shreds with short shreds in any desired proportion to form a uniform stream of tobacco adaptable for formation into a cigarette rod.

Another object is to provide an improved feed drum for removing shredded tobacco from a sup- P y.

A further object is to provide a novel method of feeding tobacco so that uniformity in texture and weight of the tobacco will be more nearly constant than has hitherto been thought possible for all cigarettes made by a cigarette machine.

Another object is to provide an improved method for feeding cigarette tobacco in a cigarette machine which will avoid an uneven proportioning of the shorts among all the cigarettes made by a machine.

Another object is to provide an improved method and simplified machine for handling shorts by providing among the fine shorts enough of the longer shorts to bind and carry the fine shorts.

Other objects and features of the invention will appear as the description of the particular physical embodiment selected to illustrate the invention progresses.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part ofthis specification, like characters of reference have been applied to corresponding parts throughout the several views which make up the drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a rear view of the tobacco feed, partly in section, with the back plates of the feed chambers removed;

Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of the shorts feed, as seen from line 2-2 of Fig. 1 illustrating the feeding of shorts.

Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, illustrating the feeding of the long tobacco and the separation of the shorts from the long tobacco;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1, showing the drive for the shorts feed mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, showing additional operating and adjusting mechanism;

Fig. 6 is a partial front elevation of the carded feed drum, illustrating the different sizes of carding which may be used to properly equalize the volume of long and short tobacco removed by said drum;

Figure 7 is a side elevation showing one of the side plate operating mechanisms taken on line B a-8a of Figure 3; and

Figure 8 is a sectional elevation of the mechanism shown in Figure 7 taken on line 8--8.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, a plurality of adjustably spaced rotating rollers I0 is provided for supporting the shredded tobacco supply in a main hopper M and these rollers are continuously rotated in the same direction to forward tobacco thereabove toward portion HA of a carded feeding drum l l. The rollers l may have sandblasted or knurled surfaces: and are spaced from one another to separate the shorts and medium size shreds from the tobacco supply in the main hopper M by allowing the shorts and medium size shreds to pass down between said rollers. Rollers it! are fixedly mounted upon individual shafts l2 which have end sprockets l3 fixedly connected to one end thereof. These sprockets 13 decrease progressively in diameter, the shaft nearest the feed drum ll having the smallest sprocket, and

the shaft most distant from the feed drum H having the largest sprocket. This difference in diameter causes the sprocket nearest the feed drum H to rotate fastest, the one next to it slower, the one next to the second still slower, and so on, the end sprocket l3 rotating slowest.

Each of shafts I2 is supported at its opposite ends in slidable bearing blocks I4. These blocks are slidably mounted on opposite sides of the machine in conventional guide channels l5, the latter being carried by brackets is which are secured to the frame IT of the cigarette machine by conventional clamp bolts l8.

The rotating rollers l0 and feed drum H tend to impart a circulatory movement to the tobacco in the main hopper M and this continuous rotation' serves to remove the shorts and medium size shreds of tobacco from the bottom of the main hopper M so that only long shreds will come into engagement with the feed drum.

Sprockets [3 are driven by means of a sprocket chain l9 which travels over sprockets l3, free sprocket 25, and driving sprocket 2|. Sprocket 2i is fixed on a shaft 22 supported at opposite ends in fixed bearings 22. A driving sprocket 23 is also fixed to shaft 22 and is driven by means of a conventional sprocket chain 24 running over sprocket 25'of conventional variable speed drive V, which may be similar to that shown in U. S. Patent No. 1,287,707 issued December 17, 1918. A motor D imparts operating movement to the variable speed drive by means of sprocket chain 25 running over sprockets 2! and 28. The speed of sprocket 25 may be adjusted in a conventional manner by means of hand wheel 29.

The spacing between rollers l3 may be adjusted so that the size of the shorts and medium size shreds of tobacco passing down between said rollers may be controlled. This is accomplished by moving the sliding blocks l4 in'their channels l5. Since the bearing blocks at each end of rollers H] are adjusted in substantially the same manner, a description of the adjusting means at one end is considered sufficient. A slot 32 is provided in each sliding block. Pins 95 engage with these slots and are respectively fixed to individual levers 33 having-different leverages which are respectively pivotally mounted upon the lower channel I carried by the bracket I5. Levers 33 receive actuating movement through link 34 which carries relatively fixed pins 35 which are arranged to travel in slots 36 formed in these levers. Link 34 is pivotally connected at its ends to the outer levers 31 and 38. Lever 38 is provided with an extension 39, to which is pivotally connected a pair of links 40, on one end of which is'carried a threaded block 4|. This block 4! engages with a threaded portion of a shaft 44 supported by a bearing lug 43 on a fixed part of the machine. A knob 42 is fixedly connected to shaft 44, the turning of which through lever 38 and link 34 actuates levers 33 and 37, thus icmp'arting the desired amount of movement to bearing blocks M, the position of which determines the spacing between rollers l0. Levers 33, 31 and 38 have upper and lower lever arms of progressively different lengths, respectively, which automatically proportion the distance traveled by each of bearing blocks I4 when being adjusted so that the spacing between the rollers at all times will be equal.

To fluff the tobacco shreds L in the main hopper M, and in order to allow shorts intermingled in the tobacco supply of the main hopper to escape between rollers II], a pair of side plates 30, 3i is provided. These plates have been particularly helpful in fluffing moist tobacco which inherently has a tendency to compact itself while being forwarded to the feeding drum ll. Side plates 30, 3! are swingably secured to side walls 45 and 46 of the main hopper by means of hinges 47 and 43. A shield I08 is provided for preventing the tobacco in the main hopper from getting behind side plates 30 and 3| during the lifting operation. Plates 30 and 3| are provided with protruding operating levers 49 and 55, which carry rollers 5| and 52 adapted to cooperate with lugs 55 and 56 carried by disks 53 and 54. Cam lugs 55 and 55 are fixedly mounted upon said disks and are so constructed as to raise plates 33 and 3i slowly; and after they have raised side plates 33 and 3! to their uppermost position, the plates are allowed to fall back rapidly. Figures 7 and 8 show in detail the manner in which cam disk 53 provided with cam lug 55 operates side plate 30. Since cam disk 54 and its cam lug 56, as shown in Figure 1, are the same in construction as cam disk 53 and cam lug 55 thereon it has been deemed unnecessary to show in detail but one of these cams.

Cam disks 53, 54 are fixedly mounted upon a intermittently rotating shaft 51 carrying a ratchet wheel 58 adjacent one end. Shaft 51 is supported in the side walls 45, 46 of the main hopper M, and also in the bracket 59 suitably secured to a fixed part of the machine. The ratchet wheel 58 is intermittently rotated by a spring mounted pawl 53 pivoted to an oscillating arm 62 loosely mounted on shaft 51. The oscillating arm 62, by means of a connecting rod 64, is connected to a crank pin 56 which is secured to a continuously rotating gear 65. A look pawl 6| carried by an arm 60 of bracket 59 is provided to prevent the ratchet 58 from having any retrograde movement.

The short and medium size shreds S of tobacco passing between rollers l0 fall into a trough or chute 69 which guides them together into a tube 10 forming part of a conventional pneumatic conveyor system designated generally H. These shorts and medium size shreds S are delivered to a conventional separator 12 which removes the shorts and medium size shreds of tobacco from the pneumatic conveyor system H and showers them down upon a collecting belt 13 forming part of the auxiliary hopper A, which will be hereinafter described. The substantially clean air passes out from separator 12 through chamber 14 into conduit Ill and back into the main pneumatic conveyor system I l.

A conventional blower B operates the system, and a suitable dust collector 15 may be provided to remove fine dust from the returning air. A suitable adjustment valve 15 may be provided for regulating the air pressure and thereby the speed at which the shorts and medium size shreds of tobacco travel through the pneumatic conveyor system. I "1 Belt I3 travels over pulleys 11, 18 and over a supporting plate 79 in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. Pulley I1 is mounted on a shaft 91 supported in suitable adjustable bearings. Pulley I8 is mounted on a shaft 98 carrying a sprocket 99 which through chain I09 is connected to sprocket Ill! mounted on shaft 91. Shaft 98 carries a second sprocket I02 which, through chain I03, is driven by a sprocket I04 mounted on feed drum shaft 68. Feed drum shaft 68 is driven by a sprocket I06 and a chain I05 from the main drive of the cigarette machine. Belt 73 acts to forward the shorts and medium size tobacco shreds S into engagement with the other portion I IB of feed drum I I.

In the past it has been the custom, when deal ing with shorts in shredded tobacco, to remove only the shorts therefrom; and various problems have been encountered in handling these shorts once they were removed from the long tobacco, due to the fact that they are so small in size that ordinary carding wheels are unsatisfactory for removing a predetermined quantity of short tobacco from the supply of accumulated shorts. The inventor has discovered that this problem may be easily solved by removing not only the short shreds but also shreds which may be said to be of medium length, leaving behind the longer shreds L. It has been found that the medium length shreds act as a binder for the shorts and when the shorts are combined with medium length shreds of tobacco, carding drums operate satisfactorily for removing a uniform and predetermined quantity of tobacco from such a supply of shorts and medium size shreds.

When tobacco of an average cigarette blend is first placed in the hopper of a cigarette machine, the shorts (tobacco particles less than A in length) run about 6%; the medium length shreds (between /3 and A1" in length) run about 24%; and long shreds (more than /2 or A in length) run about 70%. During the feeding process the shreds are broken up somewhat and by the time the tobacco ultimately gets into the cigarette, the shorts will have a tendency to average 12-13%, and the medium and long shreds will Vary between 40-47% each. With different blends and different tobaccos the percentages will vary because some tobacco leaves (e. g. Turkish) are quite small, and other tobacco leaves (e. g. bright and burley) are comparatively large. The above figures, however, will be substantially correct for average blended cigarette tobacco. Where all the shreds tend to be shorter or longer, the average length of what may be referred to as the medium or long shred will be correspondingly longer or shorter.

The length of the shreds separated from the main tobacco supply L can be regulated by knobs 42 which adjust the amount of spacing between the rollers I0. A separate adjustment will be made for each type of tobacco fed to obtain the desired proportioning of shorts and medium size shreds among the long shreds.

Fig. 6 shows the two sizes of carding used on feed drums II for shorts and medium size shreds S, and for long shreds L, of tobacco. The portion I IB of feed drum I I having the longer carding 80 (which for example may be 3 2" in height) removes shorts and medium size tobacco shreds S from auxiliary hopper A, and the portion IIB having the shorter carding 8| (which for example may be T in height) removes long shreds L from the main hopper M. The inventor has found that shorts have a higher density than long shreds and by using carding of two different sizes, he is able to obtain a deposit of tobacco on the feed belt 8'! which will be of even height.

The remaining structure of the machine, designated generally by the letter F, may be somewhat similar to that shown in Rundell 2,247,413, issued July 1, 1941, and may be described briefly as follows:

Feed drum I I extends across the auxiliary hopper A and main hopper M, and by means of the longer carding and short carding just mentioned, removes a predetermined volume of tobacco simultaneously from the auxiliary and main hoppers of the cigarette machine. The long carding deposits the short and medium size shreds of tobacco S on one portion of feed belt 81, and the short carding deposits the long shreds L on an adjoining portion of feed belt 81. The refuser drum 82, extending across the entire width of feed drum II, acts to remove any excess tobacco from feed drum II. A cleaning fan 83 is provided for removing any tobacco which adheres to the refuser drum, and a confining shield 84 also cooperates therewith in a conventional manner.

A picker fan 85, rotating in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, removes tobacco from feed drum I i and with the aid of a concave 86 showers the tobacco upon feed belt Bl, the shorts and medium size shreds landing on one portion of the feed belt, and the longer size shreds landing on an adjoining portion of feed belt 8'1. Feed belt 8'] travels over pulleys 88 and es, in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, and is supported intermediate these pulleys by a suitable plate $53. The tobacco on this feed belt is then delivered onto a pin roller 92 coacting with a compressing roller SI, and is forwarded through a concave H39. A picker roller 93 is provided for removing tobacco from pin roller 92 in a conventional manner and showers said tobacco through a chute 95 down upon a paper web P. The paper web P travels transversely beneath the chute 95, through a conventional guide channel 98, and receives first the long shreds of tobacco,- and then the shorter shreds which are hurled down upon the longer shreds restin upon the paper. The downward force with which the shorts and medium size shreds travel has shown itself to be sufiicient to cause the shorts to intermingle uniformly with the long shreds already on the paper.

In the past it was found that where shorts are intermingled with long shreds and are showered together simultaneously upon a collecting paper web, the shorts had a tendency to all gather on the bottom of the paper, and the long shreds on top of the shorts, which did not produce the uniformity desired in making cigarettes. The inventors machine has avoided this separation and thus produces a uniform interminglin of the short, medium, and long shreds, by first showering the long shreds and then hurling the shorts down upon the long shreds.

By rotating rollers III at relatively dilferent rates of speed, the tobacco shreds never have a chance to become compacted between adjacent rollers since the forward roller of each pair of adjacent rollers is the faster roller and always lifting the tobacco away from the slower roller of the pair. This enables the smaller tobacco particles to fall away from the longer shreds down through the spacing between the rollers. The size of tobacco falling between these spaces will depend upon the size of the spaces between the rollers. By'bringing the rollers close enough the in-T ventor can stop all tobacco from passing downward.

As the machine operates, the very small shorts will first fall down into the collecting trough 69, and after this the size of the shreds falling down will progressively increase until they reach the predetermined size for which the rollers are placed, whereupon very few shreds will then fall through. It is understood that an inconsequential number of shorts and medium length shreds will remain intermingled among the long shreds but this will in nowise affect the uniform feeding of tobacco since most of the shorts and medium size shreds will have been removed in the manner described.

The invention above described may be varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the particular device selected to illustrate the invention is but one of many concrete embodiments of the same. The invention therefore is not to be restricted to the precise details of the structure shown and described.

What is claimed is:

1. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising, a series of spaced rotating rollers supporting a supply of tobacco, means for causing said rollers all to rotate in the same direction, carding means associated with said rollers for removing a substantially constant predetermined quantity of tobacco from the tobacco supply supported by said rollers, means for collecting tobacco passing down through the spaces between said rollers and thus separated from said supply, means for forwarding said separated tobacco to an accumulating and feedin station, additional carding means for removing a substantially constant predetermined quantity of tobacco from said accumulated supply, a tobacco receiving surface, and means for continuously associating each quantity of tobacco removed by all of said carding means in side by side relation on said surface to form thereon a continuous stream of filler tobacco of substantially uniform thickness.

2. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising, a series of spaced rotating rollers, said rollers being constructed and arranged to support a supply of tobacco and separate the shorts therefrom while maintaining the condition of all other tobacco longer than the length of said shorts substantially unchanged, means for regulatin the amount of space between said rollers to control the size of the shreds of tobacco passing therebetween, means for driving said rollers at different rates of speed and causing said rollers all to rotate in the same direction, a carding means associated with said rollers for removing a substantially constant predetermined quantity of tobacco from the tobacco supply supported by said rotating rollers, means for collecting tobacco passing down through the spaces between said rollers and thus separated from said supply, means for forwarding said separated tobacco to an accumulating and feeding station, additional carding means for removing a substantially constant predetermined quantity of tobacco from said accumulated supply, and means for combining the tobacco removed by all of said carding means to form a continuous stream of filler tobacco for a cigarette rod.

3. A method of feeding shredded tobacco in a cigarette machine which consists in: separating the shorts together with a sumcient quantity of longer shreds, to act as a binder for said shorts,

from a supply of tobacco and forming an accumulation thereof; continuously removing a substantially constant predetermined quantity of tobacco from the remainder of said supply; continuouslyremoving a substantially constant predetermined quantity of tobacco from said accumulation; and associating both of said substantially constant quantities of tobacco upon removal from said accumulation and said supply in side by side relation to form a stream of cigarette tobacco of substantially uniform thickness.

4. A method of feeding shredded tobacco in a cigarette machine which consists in: separating the shorts and short shreds simultaneously in one operation from the long shreds of a tobacco supply; accumulating said shorts and short shreds feed a supply of shredded tobacco into engagement with said carding roller, movable side walls mounted on opposite sides of said support, and

means for actuating said side walls to come to-' gether slowly and lift said tobacco supply upward and then to withdraw rapidly to loosen said shredded tobacco.

6. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising, a series of spaced rotating rollers supporting a supply of tobacco, means for causing said rollers all to rotate in the same direction, movable members mounted at opposite ends of said rollers, means for imparting a slow inward and upward movement to said members to engage and raise a portion of said tobacco supply, means for causing said members to withdraw promptly to allow said tobacco supply to fall freely down upon said supporting rollers and thereby fluff said tobacco supply, means for 001- lecting tobacco separated from said supply and passing down through the spaces between said spaced rollers, means for forwarding said separated tobacco to an accumulating and feeding station, carding means for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from the supply supported by said rotating rollers, additional carding means for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from said accumulated supply of separated tobacco, and means for combining the tobacco removed by both of said carding means to form a continuous stream of filler tobacco for a cigarette rod. 7

7. In a cigarette machine, a shred feeding apparatus comprising: a roller; carding means mounted on said roller for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from a tobacco supply; means for supporting a tobacco supply-and forwarding said supply into engagement with said roller; tobacco engaging members mounted on opposite sides of said tobacco supporting means in line with the direction of feed, said tobacco engaging members being mounted for arcuate movement; and means for imparting a slow upward swing movement to said members to lift a portion of said tobacco supply, and a fast dropping movement to said members to fluff the portion of the tobacco supply lifted by said members,

8. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette 'machine comprising: a series of rotating rollers supporting a supply of shredded tobacco; means for causing said rollers all to rotate in the same direction; a pair of tobacco engaging members mounted at opposite sides of said rollers; and means for imparting an inward and upward movement to said members to cause them to travel toward each other to lift a substantial por- 'tion of said tobacco supply and to fall back after 'at the bottom of a main hopper for removing 'shreds smaller than a predetermined size from a tobacco supply; a short shred gathering trough positioned beneath said rollers to collect the short shreds falling between said rollers; an auxiliary hopper for storing a supply of said short shreds, disposed to one side of the main hopper; a conveyor for delivering said short shreds from said trough to said auxiliary hopper; a common carded feeding roller disposed across both of said hoppers for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from each of said hoppers; a tobacco feed belt for receiving tobacco removed by said carding roller so that the shorter tobacco shreds will be delivered on one portion of the belt, and the long tobacco shreds will be delivered on an adjoining portion of the belt; and a transverse collecting belt traveling beneath said feed belt to receive first the long tobacco shreds therefrom, and. next the short tobacco shreds on top of the long tobacco already on the collecting belt.

10. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising in combination: a series of rotating short shred separating rollers disposed at the bottom of a main hopper for removing shreds smaller than a predetermined size from a tobacco supply; a short shred gathering trough positioned beneath said rollers to collect the short shreds falling between said rollers; an auxiliary hopper for storing a supply of said short shreds, disposed to one side of the main hopper; a conveyor for delivering said short shreds to said auxiliary hopper; a carded feeding roller disposed across said main hopper and said auxiliary hopper for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from each of said hoppers, said carded roller having carding teeth of one length for engaging the shreds in said main hopper and teeth of a longer length for engaging the tobacco in said auxiliary hopper; and a feed belt, traveling in a direction transverse to the axis of said carded roller, for receiving a shower of tobacco from said carded roller and delivering the same to a collecting belt, said collecting belt traveling in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of said feed belt so as to first receive long tobacco shreds and then the shorter tobacco shreds from said feed belt.

11. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising in combination: a series of rotating short shred separating rollers disposed at the bottom of a main hopper for removing shreds smaller than a predetermined size from a tobacco supply; a short shred gathering trough positioned beneath said rollers to collect the short shreds falling between said rollers; means for adjusting the amount of spacing between said rollers to regulate the size shred passing down between said rollers; an auxiliary hopper for storii t) ing a supply of short shreds, disposed to one side of the main hopper; a conveyor for delivering said short shreds from said trough to said auxiliary hopper; a common carded feeding roller disposed across both of said hoppers for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from each of said hoppers; a tobacco feed belt for receiving tobacco removed by said carding roller so that the shorter tobacco shreds will be delivered on one portion of the belt and the long tobacco shreds will be delivered on an adjoining portion of the belt; and a transverse collecting belt traveling beneath said feed belt to receive first the long tobacco shreds therefrom and next the short tobacco shreds on top of the long tobacco already on the collecting belt.

12. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising in combination: a series of rotating short shred separating rollers disposed at the bottom of a main hopper for removing shreds smaller than a predetermined size from a tobacco supply; a short shred gathering trough positioned beneath said rollers to collect the short shreds falling between said rollers; an auxiliary hopper for storing a supply of said short shreds, disposed to one side of the main hopper; a conveyor for delivering said short shreds from said trough to said auxiliary hopper; a common carded feeding roller disposed across both of said hoppers for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from each of said hoppers; means for imparting rotary movement to said shred separating rollers so that they rotate at relatively different rates of speed, the shred separating roller nearest the feed roller rotating the fastest, and the shred separating roller most distant from the feed roller rotating the slowest; a tobacco feed belt for receiving tobacco removed by said carding roller so that the shorter tobacco shreds will be delivered on one portion of the belt, and the long tobacco shreds will be delivered on an adjoining portion of the belt; and a transverse collecting belt traveling beneath said feed belt to receive first the long tobacco shreds therefrom, and next the short tobacco shreds on top of the long tobacco already on the collecting belt.

13. A method of feeding shredded tobacco in a cigarette machine which consists in: simultaneously removing tobacco short particles having a length of less than of an inch in combination with a substantial proportion of shreds having a length varying from A; to V; of an inch from a tobacco supply in a main hopper; accumulating together the short particles so removed in an auxiliary hopper; continuously removing a predetermined volume of tobacco from the remaining tobacco supply in the main hopper; continuously removing a predetermined volume of tobacco from the accumulated supply of short particles; depositing the quantities of tobacco so removed side by side upon a traveling surface to form a stream of substantially uniform thickness thereon; and then showering said tobacco from the first named traveling surface to a second surface traveling in a direction transverse to the first named surface.

14-. A device for separating shreds of tobacco, shorter than a predetermined size, from a tobacco supply consisting of: a tobacco confining chamber, a series of spaced rollers having roughened surfaces disposed at the bottom of said chamber, means for rotating said rollers in the same direction to remove said shorter shreds from the tobacco supply, and interconnected means for 1 simultaneously adjusting the amount of space between said rollers to control the size shreds passing down through the spaces between said rollers.

15. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising in combination: a main hopper for holding a supply of shredded tobacco; a series of rotating rollers disposed at the bottom of said hopper for imparting movement to said tobacco supply; supporting means for said rollers adapted to space said rollers from one another to permit tobacco shreds smaller than a predetermined length to be separated from said supply, and to pass down through the spaces between said rotating rollers; a, trough for gathering together the shreds passing down through the spaces between said rollers; an auxiliary hopper disposed adjacent to said main hopper; a conveyor for forwarding the shreds gathered together by said trough to said auxiliary hopper; a carded drum disposed across said main and auxiliary hoppers for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from each of said hoppers; a feeding belt traveling in a direction transverse to the axis of said feed drum for forwarding tobacco received from said feed drum to a delivery station; and a collecting belt traveling a direction transverse to the direction of travel of said feed belt to receive tobacco therefrom so that the tobacco from the main hopper is deposited thereon before the tobacco from the auxiliary hopper.

16. A tobacco feeding apparatus for a cigarette machine comprising in combination: a main hopper for holding a supply of shredded tobacco; a series of roughened rotating rollers disposed at the bottom of said hopper for separating shorts and shreds smaller than a predetermined length from a tobacco supply, said rollers being spaced from one another to permit said shorts and smaller shreds to pass down through the spaces between said rollers; a trough for gathering together the shorts and shreds passing down through the spaces between said rollers; an auxiliary hopper disposed adjacent to said main hopper; a conveyor for forwarding the tobacco gathered together by said trough to said auxiliary hopper; a carded feed drumdisposed across both of said hoppers for removing continuously a predetermined quantity of tobacco from each; a feed belt traveling in a direction transverse to the rotating axis of said carded feed drum for receiving the tobacco removed by said feed drum from each of said hoppers in side by side relationship, and feeding it to a delivery station; and a collecting tape positioned adjacent the delivery station of said feed belt and traveling in a direction transverse to the direction of travel of said feed belt so as to receive first the long shred tobacco and then the short shred tobacco from said feed belt.

17. A feeding apparatus having the features set forth in claim 16, wherein the carded feed drum has carding of one height for removing tobacco from the main hopper and carding of another height for removing tobacco from the auxiliary hopper.

18. In a cigarette machine, a feed comprising: a main hopper for holding a supply of shredded tobacco; an auxiliary hopper for holding a supply of tobacco having comparatively short shreds; means having carding of a predetermined size for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from said main hopper; additional means having carding of a size larger than that of said first named means for removing a predetermined quantity of tobacco from said auxiliary hopper in a greater unit volume than that removed from said main hopper; and means for forwarding the tobacco removed from each of said hoppers to a collecting conveyor, said last-named means being constructed and arranged to deposit said quantities of tobacco in side by side relation on said conveyor and form thereon a stream of substantially uniform thickness, said conveyor being adapted and arranged to forward the tobacco received toward a rod forming mechanism.

CHARLES ARELT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,146,824 'Irypani July 20, 1915 1,183,618 Aiton May 16, 1916 1,932,168 Adams Oct. 24, 1933 1,938,903 Grupe Dec. 12, 1933 2,018,011 Chandler Oct. 22, 1935 2,150,607 Molins Mar. 14, 1939 2,202,399 Riesen, Sr May 28, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 367,431 Great Britain Feb. 22, 1932 380,400 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1932 506,615 Great Britain June 1, 1939 

